Science

We have been told that plastic (Polyurethane) can not be broke down and recycled naturally. This was true with the data we had so far until Yale’s students discovered a fungus that eats plastic. That mushroom is discovered in the Amazon, the place in earth with the most species. Pestalotiopsis microspora, the discovered fungi, is the first that can survive eating only plastic. The most amazing thing is that it can do it in an anaerobic environment, an environment without oxygen. Great news for science, this is a step forward to ensure that our garden chairs (and any other plastic garbage) will not be on earth for centuries. If scientists find a way to do this in larger scale, it means we will have a cleaner planet.

This post is not for erasing the data from the CD but erasing the CD and making it useless. With this method you erase the reflective metallic layer on the disc with electrical current. Data is saved on that metallic layer and by removing it you make the CD useless. All you need is high voltage and you will feel like Nikola Tesla. The reason you see it shrinking and disappearing is because CD recording medium is conductive and sparks follow the least resistance path. Sparks vaporize the medium from the outside because it is the nearest path and continues until it is gone completely.

Canadian researchers have created a vaccine and they believe that it can prevent HIV. They will start clinical trials on humans in January as it is approved by U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Researchers can’t be sure if the vaccine works before the trials but they are positive. Even if it is, it will take about five years for the vaccine to go on the market. The SAV001 vaccine uses dead HIV-1 virus and it is altered genetically to be non-pathogenic. The number of people with HIV at the end of 2010 was 34 million according to the United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS. The number is increasing year by year and this vaccine gives hope in both HIV-positive and HIV-negative people.

IBM predicts five innovations that can change the world within five years. The following five predictions can transform the aspects of our lives and make earth a smarter planet. This year predictions are people power will come to life, you will never need a password again, mind reading is no longer science fiction, the digital device will cease to exist and junk mail will become priority mail. Those five innovations are this year’s predictions from IBM. Some of their predictions come true, including two of the last year 5 in 5. The one that I vote for is the first one, people power will come to life. This one will help us gather energy from everywhere and will result in a much greener place to live.

Nikola Tesla is in my opinion the greatest man ever lived. He had thoughts on how to capture free energy and not only that but also how to tranfer it around the world without the use of wires. His only mistake is that he shared his thoughts with the greedy capitalists and they stoped him. It was not really a mistake, it was the only way to realize his visions. He was a pioneer in modern electrical engineering. After watching the documentary look around and see in how many ways Tesla impacts our lives, how many devices are based on his inventions. Other made millions by using his inventions while he died penniless. Free energy was not the only vision he had, he designed a shield that can protect cities from attacks and many more. If we had more men like Nikola Tesla the world would be a better place.

Cambridge University Library has one of the largest collections of the work of Isaac Newton. His work, notebooks and manuscripts are available online at Cambridge Digital Library for anyone interested to read. Digital library has more than 4000 pages of Newton material and more thousands will be uploaded in the next few months. In the Newton collection you can find Principia and ‘Waste Book’. After Newton, Cambridge will add to its digital library other great works like Charles Darwin’s. Scientists will be pleased to hear this because they have the opportunity to read the work of great minds and important people that changed the world with their findings.

Terrapower, a company founded by Bill Gates is discussing with China for a new design of nuclear reactors. The fourth generation nuclear reactors research will cost about one billion dollars over five years, that’s an one followed by nine zeros. The plan is to produce less nuclear waste, be safer and cheaper. Terrapower also talked to other nuclear nations, India and Russia, for the new design which is called traveling wave reactor. The reactors will be disaster proof, they will be designed to be resistant to natural disasters like tidal waves and earthquakes. We all want to avoid another incident similar to what happened to Japan. What will come first then, the fourth generation of nuclear reactors or the cloned woolly mammoth?

In the deep waters of Costa Rica you can find Yeti Crabs, crabs that grow their own food. I read this post after another post about economy today and how difficult is for most of the people and it was like those post were linked together. With this economy, crabs are forced to grow their own food to survive. Kiwa hirsuta was the first Yeti crab discovered in 2005. Yeti crabs have hairy claws and are covered with bacteria which is their main source of food. They wave their claws like dancing to farm the bacteria because with this action they provide additional nutrients to bacteria. Usually Yeti crabs are found in areas with methane and hydrogen sulfide because their bacteria grow on those environments.

Most of us enjoy watching dinosaurs on the screen and one of the reasons is the fact that they are extinct. There are many species that are extinct but my second favorite extinct animal is mammoth. If you like mammoths then you should read this because you may soon see a live one. Scientists found a thigh bone in Siberia having a well-preserver bone marrow of mammuthus primigenius, also known as woolly mammoth. Now scientists believe that they can create a clone of the mammoth within five years. This will be possible by replacing the nuclei of an elephant’s egg cells with the mammoth’s as elephants and mammoths are closed relatives.

South Korea will try robots as prison guards for one month. Robotic prison guards are 150cm tall and have wheels. They are designed to be humane and friendly. If the trial is a success more robots will be added. The robotic prison guards will be used mainly at night and with their censors can check the condition of a cell and report to the officer in charge. They will not be used only as cameras, they have algorithms that analyze activities and can detect abnormal behavior. Inmates cannot bribe or threat robots but they might find a way to hack them or exploit any vulnerabilities. This will bring us one step closer to a world that machines rule.